found it fascinating that violent crime is down in major cities two decades in a row. we ask why is that? >> my teens will tell you the internet keeps people busy so they are less likely out looking for trouble. >> they talk about video games and taking lead out of paint and gasoline and roe versus wade had a connection as well. whatever it is, it is a good trend. thank you. "morning joe" starts right now. . ♪ good morning! it is january 6th.

welcome to "morning joe." look at that weather. and, boy it's going to get worse through some parts of the country. nicole wallace, happy new year. >> happy new year. >> the president on foreign relations, richard haass. did you go somewhere glamorous? >> no. spent the last year in belfast. >> that is very important. >> glamorous not the word. >> look at glamorous. >> look at that! >> especially when it's muddy and rainy out? oh, yeah, that is when we go to nashville. john meachem, i'm sure you're wearing the tough rubber boots when it's so tough out? look at him blushing! >> i don't want to overexcite you here. >> you won't. don't worry. we are good! >> happy new year.

>> no, good to have you on, john meacham. a check on the freezing temperatures are crippling most of the country and flights are cancelled this morning for other reasons. bill karins, i'm looking at what we believe is to be the top of the rock. that is supposed to be a view of the city. one of the reasons why it took us all a lot to get here therng. >> look at the fog. >> take it away, bill. >> a lot of people say in connecticut and new jersey and new york they couldn't see the yellow line in the middle of the road. pick your poison today. you can complain about the fog and the warm in the northeast this morning. but just wait until tomorrow morning when your windchill is minus 20. this historic arctic outbreak is well under way. coldest temperatures in the northern plains and sweeping into the ohio plains and central plains. they are dangerous lows and life-threatening in some cases.

the blue is windchill advisories goes into florida and adds up to 27 states have windchill warnings, 34 states have warnings and/or advisories. now as far as the temperatures go, this is the temperature. not even factoring in the wind. we are minus 12 in chicago. about minus 9 in kansas city. we have snow on the ground. almost a foot of it yesterday. there is even some snow showers out there in areas like green bay where your windchill is like minus 30. they did get that football game in before the really bad arctic air did sweep in last night. the most dangerous temperatures out there from denver and if you draw a line to indianapolis. chicago you're windchill is minus 38. that doesn't happen often. even dallas has a windchill of 4. this cold air has swept to the gulf and as far as the lowest numbers go, languadon, minus 40. it's warm and rainy. this afternoon, the temperatures

will plum met in the northeast so be prepared for that. you still need to bring the gloves and the coat because you need it this afternoon. then tomorrow morning, all of the cold air rushes to the east coast. the only good news, mika, only short-lived. only one or two days of this and then it will warm up. >> bill karins, thank you. back to you throughout updates through the show. unraveling in the middle east. big news overnight as well as asia on the brink and richard haass is here for that. first, politics. msnbc has learned that liz cheney is expected to drop her bid for u.s. senate in wyoming. politico reports a number of factors including a recently family incident causing her to reconsider. you remember cheney and her sister mary who is gay publicly sparred over same-sex marriage. liz cheney issued a statement against gay marriage when mary posted on facebook, quote, liz's position is to treat my family

as second-class citizens. vice president dick cheney eventually came to liz's defense saying she had always believed in traditional marriage and treated her sister with love and respect. but it did little to diffuse the tension. liz cheney has spent much of her professional life in washington, d.c. and struggled to prove her wyoming -- and her campaign ads focused on her family's roots." our family first came here walking the trail. >> my great, great grandmother came here in 1957. >> she has also trailed in public polling and saw veteran republican lawmakers flock to incumbent mike enzi's corner. we also want to take a look at something going on are hillary clinton. first, joel and nicole's take on liz cheney. >> i think a lot of people more people loved and admire liz

cheney than loved and admired liz cheney's campaign. >> a good way to put it. >> it was made difficult by people feeling like she revealed some of the impulses that would make her less than the bush and cheney years. >> you knew her? >> i worked alongside liz and mary cheney for the president and vice president's re-election. this was so shockey to everyone who knew the cheney's because they have always stood together, not just as a family, but as political warriors. so to see liz have to wage a campaign with a divided family front. >> that is hard. >> not as one of her assets but one of her burdenses was dismayed irks dismayed. >> a statement from the cheney campaign and reads the following. under the circumstances i have decided to discontinue my campaign. my children and our futures were

the motivation of our campaign and reading that sounds like children's health. >> it sounds like something is wrong and we wish liz and her family all the best. >> sometimes those disputes are overblown and misunderstood and get worse in the press. >> they have nothing to do with the decision. >> exactly. let's get to hillary 2016. >> disputes in my family aren't overblown. >> in my family, they are definitely not overblown. they sometimes end up on the front lawn. is that bad? my brothers, you know? my dad stirring the pot and my mother adding something! >> torn apart? >> oh, lord. iraq was one of the big issues because my brother worked for the bush administration and mark had worked for clinton before. >> we will get to that. >> where does he want to invade

today? >> i think canada. we need to have him on to talk about ukraine and iraq. >> is he a good guy. we are still two years away from the presidential race but an outside group of hillary clinton backers are beginning to coalesce around her possible bid. a new detailed report by politico's maggie haberman describes an i want cat campaign in waiting. on one side, a dozen clinton staffers and loyalists that make up her inner circle and on the other outside groups looking for clinton's blessing. a growing concern of a rift and inability to control the messaging but at clinton's direct the groups have begun to make peace and take shape. according to politico, priority usa which backed president obama in the last cycle will handle megadonors. i know. so ready to go. it's hard to read like it's

surprising because it's not, right? is it fair to say that? >> i don't know. no, no, it's not that i'm more careful. i'm not so sure she is going to run. you're sure she is going to run. >> oh, are you going to set that up? >> no. >> everyone stop! >> is everybody sure she is going to run? everyone around the table sure? i know people close to her say they are not so sure. richard, are you sure that hillary is going to run? >> 90%. >> yeah. what else are they going to do? >> i'm just going to -- you told me to just read the news. >> nobody has asked her. maybe she doesn't want to run for president. if you read maggie's piece that mika is describing a whole group in clinton land doesn't think she should run. >> always people that are pushing because they want to be in the right position with the right person runs because they want that office closest to the president on the west wing. whenever that happens, people

get out in front of candidates all the time. i've heard similar candidates about chris christie that people around him think running for president is a lot neater idea than chris christie might think running for president is a neat idea when it's 10 below zero in iowa and you're getting yelled at by somebody on the street. >> right. charlie peters is talking about the day after the election in washington you would see crisp new bumper stickers of whoever just won. this is sort of the other side of that. you put them on now and if it doesn't work out. joe, we were always with you, man. >> boy, i heard that a lot. i heard that a lot. >> we need biden, you know? i'm sure they are ready. >> exactly. >> but, again, whoever just said what else are they going to do i think is a good point. >> that's it. >> that was me. >> perfect. >> you always crystallize

things. >> play bunko? cheesy tournaments in the cat skills? >> no, they will be running. you say they can't help themselves? >> no, you just did. >> we will see. two big international stories. iraq first. growing concerns this morning about stability in iraq after islamists extremists took control of two key cities. iraqi officials said yesterday they were able to take back parts of ramadi. the progress made after heavy fighting between members of iraq's military and the sunni militants but different in fallujah. officials are struggling to regain control and some local militias have joined forces outraged by the policies of the iraq shiite government. secretary of state john kerry say the militants are the most dangerous players in the yeed and adding the u.s. is committed to helping the iraqi government,

we will not send troops back in. >> this is a fight that belongs to the iraqis. that is exactly what the president and the world decided some time ago when we left iraq. so we are not, obviously, contemplating returning and not contemplating putting boots on the ground. this is their fight but we are going to help them in their fight. >> so let's talk about the growing influence of al qaeda in the middle east, in iraq, in syria. is this america's greatest -- right now? >> it's becoming that way. you have weak central governments throughout the region for the most part. we always worry about strong governments. in the middle east you worry about weak ones that can police their own territory and fulfill the obligations of softvereignt. they start going across the border into iraq so you're now having an entire region in many ways that is being overwhelmed. i don't know any better word for it, overwhelmed.

you might call the militiaization of the middle east. we think of states and capitals and governments like 21st century europe. you think about 17th century europe and what this is about. >> and the americans don't want to hear about this. they don't care. >> yeah. >> it's -- they are shut down. we did our time there and gave everything we had. just don't even talk to us about it right now. >> i think, though, we talked before the show. i asked you about the influence or the impact that the power vacuum we have created through this administration's policies, what impact that has had in the region and i'm fascinated by the admission that certainly our policies and the administration's policies have contributed to deteriorating conditions there. >> what policy? let's be specific. >> you always had a chance to keep a residual force in iraq i

think we could have pressed harder to do it and not prevented certain things but less likely the same argument you keep a residual force in afghanistan and not something walk away and let it work its place out. these are plays, quite honestly, aren't ready to work it out. "the new york times" had a story about a post-american middle east and where iran and saudi arabia kind of go at it hammer and tongue and you go all of these militias and terrorist groups and i'm afraid this is the future essentially arrival in the middle east. >> what is fascinating it's arrival in the middle east but also reports out now, obviously, when you talk about energy, one of the reasons we were so focused on energy, willie, in middle east was because it was so critical to the economic well-being. >> we are exporting. we will not be importing any oil in the middle east the next five

to ten years. asia is going to be importing 90% of their oil from the middle east. we will import none from saudi arabia and none from these other countries. it's going to completely shift our priorities. it's going to be asia that is going to have to to be more concerned about the stability of these governments than the united states. >> think how quickly that happened. . the argument we went to iraq for oil ten years ago and now we have totally flipped that. >> that is legitimate. >> case for war. >> i know but, i mean, look. it wasn't the specific reason why. >> i feel like i've slipped into a michael moore movie here. we didn't go to war in iraq because of oil. >> there was a reason why these countries were so dysfunctional and a reason why the united states had to focus on the middle east over 50 years. >> i meant we don't have to give as much attention and care to the middle east. >> the notion we went to iraq or that we are in the region for oil is ludicrous. i think after 9/11, we engaged

our military for our security. >> oil made that region what that region was. the guy that blew up the world trade centers got his money, got his funding from petrodollars. his father built the middle east on oil! his father loaned the king of saudi arabia money. i mean, i'm not saying specifically in iraq. it was because we wanted to grab their oil supplies? i'm just saying the entire middle east bill clinton drop -- >> a distinction between -- >> we went into iran in 1950 when they were trying to nationalize the oil. >> right. a difference between this part of the world being strategically important because of oil. exactly right. it is and always will be and even if we don't need it, it will still be important for global energy situation and the united states getting involved for commercial reasons. the answer was the former, not the latter. the commercial -- of oil had

nothing to do with u.s. foreign policy but the strategic because of the region, of course, that mattered and because of the region the world over the last 30 years became so important. >> nicole, do you understand what i'm saying. i've been smoking a lot of dope. >> you went to colorado? aren't we going that way in new york too? i saw that! i was so depressed. >> so exciting. >> no, no. >> richard, you touched on this a little bit. >> dope in the future and sending the oil future. >> more of it. >> the argument we have heard in the last 4 hours the criticism of president obama we got out too fast and too soon. we will see it the end of this year in afghanistan of residual forces. how long do we stay there to make it stable? how long will it take? it's been centuries and nothing has happened. isn't there a law of diminishing returns of keeping our troops there? >> small amounts of troops in a place like afghanistan might be a good investment. we have had small amount of

troops in korea for centuries now and i think you're going to see u.s. troops going in and out of the region to perform counterterrorism missions because we are not going to have partners and still a big threat from this part of the world. we can't ignore the middle east. >> the middle east is just not going to be strategically what it was to us over the past 50 years. >> absolutely. >> over the next 50 years. >> you're right. this is not the part of the world that will write 12st century history. it's much more asia. to me the bigger strategic issue unraveling the middle east. it's what happens among china and korea and japan. can the major countries sort it out and, quite honestly, it is not clear that they can. >> john meacham you were probably still at your mother's breast. >> come on! >> wow!

wow! >> or maybe playing t-ball. i don't know what you were doing. in 1970 what was the embargo? '73, '74? >> definitely still at his mother's breasts. >> my god! >> i really think we need to -- >> they breast-feed until they are 6 or 7 years old. it's a terrible thing. a southern thing from what i hear. i'm sure you had some of those in your frat. >> it's negative 10 here. i'm glad i put on my rubber boots! >> your duck boots. >> to discuss breast-needing. >> you were young in '73. you take the iranian hostage crisis. we have had a generation of leaders whose foreign policy world view shaped by the scarcity of oil and our reliance on dictators and thugs and

radic radic radic radical regime. that is a major policy shift the next 50 years. we will be the number one oil exporter in the world. i don't think americans have focused on this enough. >> i don't either. moving beyond breasts or -- >> you don't have to. go ahead. >> it's already. >> look at him! >> richard, fact check me on this. you don't need an imitation to do that. i would argue that that world actually took shape when fdr was on his way back and he stopped and saw the king of saudi arabia in alexandria, harbor. they sacrificed a goat on the warship. >> willie and i did that this past weekend -- down at the ship on the water. >> "intrepid." >> in central park.

>> with my dog. >> we started building the alliance with saudi arabia and that began to shape both cold war policy, which was also a huge part of our support for iran and the shah through the same period you're talking about. i think this has been almost a 70-year thing. >> wow. >> 80-year cycle. but i would argue that we don't really know what that foreign policy is going to look like. richard said a minute ago the era of iraq and afghanistan is over. i would throw back at richard. didn't we think that in 2000, up until august of 2001? we wouldn't have thought we would project power in that way around the world until the attacks happened. >> richard? >> i feel pretty confident, john, we are are not sending hundreds of thousands of americans to try to occupy and remake societies in the greater middle east. i really do think that era is over and for good reason. i think what we are going to

become is much more narrow in our interests of counterterrorism and do something against proliferation and might try to help broker this or that agreement and might try to shore up a jordan. but the era of remaking the middle east? huh-uh. too big, too hard and too many things to worry about and i think that not necessarily a bad thing. we got overinvolved in trying to remake the innards of the middle east. we got overall ambitious and it destroyed american foreign policy. as much as we have done there and little elsewhere, i think strategists of the future will scratch their head and say where did the americans lose their way? >> by the way, people who say it's about israel, missed a bigger point. it's about oil. it's about oil and not the war specifically. but that is -- we would not be talking about wars in the middle east any more than we talk about wars in the center of africa if it wasn't for oil. >> about the strategic commodity of oil and about israeli and about proliferation and

terrorism. all of those things. you're right, oil is the backdrop and the strategic, not the commercial sense. that is the principle difference between this part of the world and -- >> by the way, nicole, we have to go to break. one of the reasons why i was okay with the first gulf war is because of hussein saddam mass troops on the border. the ability to have a major impact on our economy actually was significant enough to stop him from doing that. as much as i love the kuwaiti people and i wanted them to be free, you know? >> i controlled one-fifth of the world's oil supply between iraq and kuwait and on the border of saudi arabia which gave him effective control over saudi arabia. >> i wonder if this is moot if another terrorist attack is planned by al qaeda in an area they have gained control of. do americans re-learn the lesson

of 9/11 there is a connection between the parts of the middle east falling into the hands of terrorists? >> there is a connection but doesn't lead what we did in the spring of 2003. >> i'm saying i think it's more about iraq when americans think about terrorist attacks on home and on american interests and the region. >> i'm just saying it's going to become less and less important through the years. our connections -- >> one more quick story. mayor bloomberg has a grandchild. look. his name is jasper. >> he is so cute! >> he is in shorts! >> he looks like the mayor! >> he does. >> same hair. >> exactly. >> he is carrying a 9 iron. >> same bermuda shorts. >> adorable! very nice. >> he has got a little cradle of cash. >> look at this. >> what are you doing? >> this is one of the most misleading articles in the history of -- >> oh, really? really? why is that, joe? >> look at this. mika brzezinski talking about being unplugged on vacation.

>> yeah? >> not talking on the phone. what was that like? >> lovely picture. >> what was that like? not talking. not being on the phone. >> right. >> we will have to talk about that another time. would you like to talk about that on the air? >> yeah, if you want to. >> i think -- >> i love it. john meacham should jump in? >> what? >> i think john meacham left. >> what? >> look how healthy he is. i was with him this weekend. do you know where we were? >> where? >> birmingham, alabama. we were in the same stadium but not together. he was in the part behind the glass where they are hors d'oeuvreses and champagne. i was down with the people in the freezing cold cheering on my commodores. >> go commodores. >> they won. >> all right! >> they won big and rightly. >> one s.e.c. team did. >> holy cow. coming up on "morning joe," the former governor of montana whose name has been floated as a

2016 presidential contender, brian schweitzer will join us and on the set. peter king and jayne harman and bob costas with the preview of the olympic games in sochi. >> are we invited? >> we are nbc's top talent. not! >> they never let us go. >> no. we will not be in sochi. willie, will you be in sochi? >> i had to fight my way in, but i'll be there. >> of course, you will. >> they invited my two dogs? >> they brought my cat emma. i'm beth...

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don't tuck in my shirt? >> these are lala joy's. this buckle wraps around and around and supposed to be sexy. >> maybe boots shouldn't be that hard. >> i love them. take a look at the morning papers and start with our parade of papers. colorado springs gazette. investigators trying to figure out what caused a deadly plane

crash yesterday in afternoon en route from mexico the plane crashed while trying to land and flipped upside down. the jet quickly went up in flames. one person killed and two others, one seriously. all three people on board were pilots. >> such a dangerous airport i've been ever in or out of. >> i think the weather. >> my gosh. new york daily news. one dead and another critical injured after a high-rise fire in new york city. it broke out on the 40th story of a 41-story building. both were hurt trying to escape during a stairwell. the fire cause is under investigation. three new schools open in joplin, missouri, this week as the town continues to rebuild after the deadly tornado in 2011. all three schools equipped with tornado-safe rooms. 1,450 students will move to two

new elementary schools and one new middle school. high school is scheduled to open in the fall. 161 people died in the storm. it was the deadliest tornado in u.s. history. >> "wall street journal," jpmorgan chase to reach a 2 billion this year. how many penalties, can't they just write a check? they have like a different settlement every week. >> well, this one -- >> so any way. any way. more than 1 billion will be paid to the rest of the victims of madoff's ponzi scheme and the latest penalties are what they have paid if nvarious federal investigations. the pope announced yesterday he is traveling to israeli and the west bank and jordan may 24th to may 26th. he will be the fourth pontiff to visit the region. the vatican is rejecting reports that the pope may be open to

recognizing civil unions for same-sex couples. he made the comments recently about children living with gay couples saying, quote, on an educational level, gay unions raise challenges for us today which are sometimes difficult to understand. i remember a case in which a girl confessed to her teacher, my mother's girlfriend doesn't love me. how can we proclaim christ to a generation that is changing? the vatican says pope francis words were manipulated. rock 'n' roll pioneer phil everly of the everly brothers has died. he and his brother don immoralii immortalized hits from "wake up little suzy" to "bye-bye love," and "love hurts." the list goes on a own. they were so extraordinarily influenti influential, whether the beach boys or others that came after

them. we had graham nash and crosby, stills, nash and young talking about when he first met the everly brothers. >> two little kids with acoustic guitars and wanted to be in the business. we decided we would meet the everly brothers. the nearest closest hotel was the midland hotel and figured that is where they were stayed. we waited on the steps of the hotel until 1:30 in the morning. they came out of a nightclub and slight drunk. instead of patting us on the head and encouraging us, they stood and talked to me on and my band members on the steps and it changed our lives completely. >> how amazing is that? phil everly died in burbank. he was 74 years old. spiteder-man had a technica issue in the musical.

the most expensive musical in history was plagued with problems from the start. technical glitches bput the sho in the headlines. to close the play came at a million dollars a week costs. >> it was worth it, willie geist. >> i never got a chance to see it but i hear great things around the table. >> no doubt, willie. 30 years from now, you will be regretting that. people will be asking where were you when spider-man closed? >> the chief white house correspondent for politico, mike allen, happy monday. >> happy monday. >> we started talking about maggie piece for hillary clinton campaign whether or not we think hillary will run in 2016. it seems to be that she will. what did we learn new in maggie's piece for people who haven't had a chance to read 2

yet? >> you look at the detail for the planning of this campaign and allies of secretary of state clinton, with her sometimes participating, are doing every single thing that you would do if you were going to build a presidential campaign. a political briefing for her at her mansion in georgetown looking at filing deadlines, very detailed plan from big democrats in d.c. about how you would do it. they have pushed back. the publication date for her memoir was going to be in june. now later in the summer. so closer to the time when she would announce which would come after midterm elections this year and they are talking about policy she can develop looking childhood development policy. she knows she is going to have to talk about income inequality. the outside fund-raising groups are splitting up the pie and ready for had gone is going to accept donations up to 25,000.

priorities usa which which was the main superpact will take on megadonors. the shadow campaign is less shadowy all the time. run asrisk to this, willie. there are people in clinton's orbit advising no. cheryl mills, one of the closest people to her, maggie williams, longtime advisers who are saying, do we really want this to possibly end in a bad way? a modern campaign changes your dna. it's uncertain do we really want to wade into that? >> mike, do you think when hillary clinton when push comes to shove will be able to resist the proposition she could become a historic american president? >> willie, that is a very sadly put. every single person i talk to close to her says there's not a single sign that she won't do it. >> all right. mike allen with a look at the playbook. go online and check that out at politico.com. maggie haberman's piece,

"hillary clinton shadow campaign. >> coming up next, frigid temperatures in green bay not enough to stop colin kaepernick and those exposed arms. 10 below with the windchill and no sleeves for him. we will talk about that next. mine was earned orbiting the moon in 1971. afghanistan, in 2009. on the u.s.s. saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection. and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote.

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live picture you're looking live at lambeau field in green bay, wisconsin. >> i think i proved yesterday that i don't have to watch nfl games to be able to predict the outcome. >> we are going to move past those predictions we made on friday. playoff football. >> were you wrong? >> we were all wrong. 49ers and packers nfc wild card game and what it's all about. >> richard haass e-mails, joe, need to rethink your version of nfl after this game. >> minus 10 windchill. to the fourth quarter of the game tied at 20. the play of the game. on third down kaepernick using his legs to pick up a first down. >> they don't contain him. >> set them up and tied at 20 a

couple of seconds left for the winning field goal. >> it is good! san francisco moves on as they win here in lambeau field. >> that is phil dawson with 3 3-yarder. look at the replay. it went right through the hands of the packers defender. 23-20 your final score. san francisco goes into lambeau field with that cold and that weather and winds on the road and give you a sense of how cold it was in green bay yesterday. here is a fan thawing out his beer on a grill in the parking lot. you do what have you to do. weather no doubt played a factor in the game but colin kaepernick who played sleeveless disagrees. >> we had discussed before the game you were going sleeveless. you weren't going to play with a glove today. give me a sense of just how cold it was out there for you. >> it's not that cold. >> come on! >> it's all mental. look at bo. he got no sleeves too. >> again, minus 10 degrees and he says it wasn't that cold.

>> to play the game, it really was the blitz at the end of the game. >> yeah. >> we all growing up playing football, you always contain. if you come in, it's outside/in. >> i was blown away. >> amazing. >> the most critical stage the guy decides to take an inside blitz and leave the sidelines open to him. stupidest play i've ever seen! >> it was a tough play. he certainly had -- he forced kaepernick inside. maybe gets a couple of yards. >> pushed him inside maybe a couple of yards but instead gave him 20 yards. >> san francisco goes all the way to win the super bowl you will think back to that play. >> the play right there. >> i tell you what, cincinnati was just awful yesterday. >> grate season. undefeated at home. >> miserable. >> and laid an egg. instant the chargers and bengals in the third quarter. bengals had a three-point lead and philip rivers find la darius green for the scoring.

three andy dalton turnovers. >> dalton looked terrible. >> he looked lost. >> he couldn't complete a pass. >> chargers scored 20 unanswered points in the second half beating the bengals in cincinnati 27-10. here are the scheduled matchups for the next round. saints and seahawks. saints were just up in seattle a couple of weeks ago and blown out and see if they can do better this time. colts go to new england to play patriots in prime time on saturday. niners the early game in carolina. >> who do you think? >> 49ers. >> you think the 49ers are going to beat the panthers? >> i love that game. two mobile quarterbacks and big defenses. that will be fun. then philip rivers goes to denver to play the broncos. the team the eagles played in the home opener played the super bowl and this year that team was the san diego chargers. means nothing but fun to talk

about. do not, the bcs title game. >> did you see the game? >> i saw the highlights of the game. >> the chiefs were so dominating the first half. you heard that they were, you know, fading, throughout the season. they looked like they were going to go all the way to the super bowl. you're like, holy cow. this is the chiefs team that was 8-0, 9-0 and in that second half. >> collapsed. >> did you see it, richard? i haven't seen it collapse like that in pro football. that was miserable! >> also the other side not giving up. that was stunning. they stayed in the game. >> it's reminiscent of the bills and oilers game. what year was that? >> early '90s. >> do i need to clean out my purse? >> let me see those boots again, mika! >> the second half he overthrew a guy who was wide open by about two or three yards. >> the whole experience in san francisco. >> i know, but if he had completed that 15-yard pass, it would have been a touchdown. the game would have been over.

>> good redemption. you just blew the season for us. better luck next time. >> it was '93. >> '93? >> yeah. >> get the details on that. >> college football tonight. the bcs title game. we got a great matchup to look forward to. top ranked florida state tries to complete an unbeaten season. >> is that tonight? >> it's tonight taking on number two auburn at the rose bowl in pasadena. best setting for football. jameis winston leads fsu. the tigers needed two incredible plays to reach the title game against georgia and alabama. they could give them their seventh bcs national title. >> what do you think? >> i think based on recent history you have to go with auburn. first of all, the conference. secondly, you have to go with even though the conference is down this year, also they have been a team of destiny.

you look how they won the georgia game and how they won the alabama game. just bizarre wins. you saw with the red sox this year. >> love the red sox. >> two incredible groups of athletes, so fast, it's going to be a great game. >> that is robert gibbs team? >> yes, he is out there. >> over the past five or six years you've had slow teams like notre dame taking on alabama and texas taking on alabama pep you knew how it was going to end. this one? they are going to light it up. >> running, throw, going to be great. still ahead, mika's must read opinion pages and she has cleaned out her hurst. phurst. uh. . . . .

.

♪ let's do it now.

kevin williamson thing. we are going to read it. >> check it out. >> you were talking about mitt romney was on fox yesterday. >> talking about melissa harry's apology. >> he very graciously accepted an apology that he felt -- and i think most people agree -- was very meaningful and sincere in its expression of remorse. >> you say you've seen her apology? >> i didn't see the original offending incident but i saw her apology and him accepting her jooi. i thought, wow, if some of the other controversies were handled like this and someone realizes they stepped in it and apologizes. >> we all realize we step in it. i was watching and thought, my goodness. her intentions going into it were not what happened. >> you could tell -- >> that happens. >> mika, you said that they had this conversation. >> it went off the rails. >> it kind of went off the rails. >> yeah. and she talked about it after it not being the way she wanted to

go. she actually identified very much with the child. >> she apologized on twitter. >> yes. >> she made a statement. >> but her jooi on the air was beautiful. >> she made an apology on the field. mitt romney said we accepted it and put it behind us. especially on twitter. there is always these wars. it happened with martin bashir. some people are still chasing the guy down. he has apologized. he no longer works here. they are still attacking martin. for god's sake, you're not making any points with anybody, right? >> like resentment on both sides. we screw up all the time. john meacham brought up breast-feeding and we will not ask him to apologize for that. >> he just brings it up. that is stepping in it. >> that is like the final scene

of that howard hughes movie with leonardo dicaprio but we will not bring it up. isn't it sickening, willie? these people are twitter. >> they are analysts. >> they want to make everyone evil. >> make animals on both sides. like martin bashir. he said something terrible and you know who said that? martin bashir. i talked to martin on the phone while it was going on and he goes, oh. he was so hurt, he felt so stupid and he felt so bad. and people close to him were saying, martin, you know? he screwed up. we all screw up! >> there is a difference to the level of screw-ups because that was written, but i'll tell you what happened with melissa's segment was just kind of unraveled and it was live and other people jumped in and she apologized for everybody on the set. >> exactly. >> she took it all on her shoulders. >> exactly. >> and people want to believe that she had some sort of evil ultimate motive. it makes no sense when you look

at her own background. >> let me jump in and say this. let's compare sarah palin's response to when she was wronged to mitt romney's response. >> just don't say anything else. >> all i'm going to say. mitt romney showed total class he. that's all you can do. people have said horrible things about all of us. if somebody comes up and apologizes, it's all right. as long as they don't bring my kids into it. the fact they brought their granddaughter into and it mitt was say, we are cool. >> we shouldn't excuse what happened is offending incident but the way melissa handled it was pitch-perfect. i know the same way martin felt because i was in touch with him too. melissa feels terrible about it and the apologize was heartfelt. she has apologized and it's time to move on as mitt romney said. still ahead on "morning

joe" -- >> apologize yet? >> i don't think -- some things you just have to not talk about. yes, he was. his name is being floated for 2016, the always outspoken former governor of montana, brian schweitzer is here. i'm not sure he is happy about that at this point but he is here. all right. we will be right back. ♪ at 1406 35th street the old dining table at 25th and hoffman. ...and the little room above the strip mall off roble avenue. ♪ this magic moment it is the story of where every great idea begins. and of those who believed they had the power to do more. dell is honored to be part of some of the world's great stories. that began much the same way ours did. in a little dorm room -- 2713. ♪ this magic moment ♪ [ male announcer ] this man has an accomplished

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♪ still ahead on "morning

joe," congressman peters king will be here. >> oh, boy. did you hear what he said about rand paul? >> he got really worked up. >> i think he might be right. up next, former governor brian schweitzer. we will be right back. >> governor, how are you doing? ♪ it's a wonder i can think at all ♪ too big. too small. too soft. too tasty. [ both laugh ] [ male announcer ] introducing progresso's

new creamy alfredo soup. inspired by perfection. new creamy alfredo soup. but with less energy, moodiness, and a low sex drive, i had to do something. i saw my doctor. a blood test showed it was low testosterone, not age. we talked about axiron the only underarm low t treatment that can restore t levels to normal in about two weeks in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18 or men with prostate or breast cancer. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these symptoms to your doctor. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer, worsening prostate symptoms, decreased sperm count, ankle, feet or body swelling, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing while sleeping and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa.

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nicole wallace and joe has not cut his hair in like 15 years. the first thing you said. >> it's about new york. you got this bad weather. the wind blew a little bit and you got rain it looked like snow and his hair went like this. >> his hair went wild. >> you know what it is? >> what? >> alabama lost two games in a row. i think it was kind of depression? >> mid-life? >> national champions to that. the helmet. >> need hairspray out here so it stays? >> am i killing you here, joe? >> no. as most people know around this set, i don't really take a pride in how i look but i've been wearing this sweater since 1970. >> it looks good on you. >> you need a haircut! >> we talked about oil. you said you were going to shatter your political career. >> let's do that first. then we will talk about -- >> what i had to say before. >> i listened to the previous segment. of course, unlike everybody who is sitting around this table all morning long, i lived in the

middle east. i lived in libya and saudi arabia in the '80s. during the '80s we were supporti supporting saddam hussein. the most dangerous actor in the middle east is? >> iran. >> we played them money and arms and the chemical weapons he was poisoning the enemy with. the enemy of the enemy is your friend. when we went into iraq to destabilize iraq and throw saddam hussein out, we broadened the shoulders. saddam hussein, he put a hammer on al qaeda and they weren't welcome in iraq. instead of chasing al qaeda, we went into iraq. why? well, in 1953, we overthrew the shah of iran, you mentioned that -- excuse me, the elected prime minister and installed the

"playboy." >> we support him for 30 years for 30 years supported him in his torture of his own people so british petroleum could get the oil from iran and we got saudi arabia and we divided that up after world war ii. >> oil has played a critical role, obviously, in our foreign policy since '53 and since overthrow -- let's talk about moving forward. you know, a lot of people look at the last year and think it's a terrible year for the united states because they focus on washington but you look at the energy revolution and you look what is happening in the dakotas and what is happening in -- >> and montana. >> you look what is happening in montana and ohio. we have got a real -- not not a good chance. we're going to be independent of middle east oil in the next ten years. >> add to that canada and now mexico that is going to allow

outside development. north america will be major exporters of manager. >> the major exporter. >> why do we want to prop up our competitors? the asians will buy their oil there. we will be the most competitive manufacturing country on the planet again because we have the cheapest energy. let them send their blood and treasure. >> exactly. the chinese have been sitting back, nicole, the past decade and have not had to fight in afghanistan and have not had to fight in iraq and have not had to sweat it out over the middle east. think about how liberating it's going to be when we do have the cheapest energy in the world which means the manufacturing jobs flood back here because we have the most productive workers in the world and we have got the best technology people in the world. >> rule of law. >> yeah, we have got the rule of law. 2013 was a miserable time. but only if you focus on washington, d.c. if we look below the trends,

holy cow. the next decade or two could be great and we are not going to have to spend time sweating it out over what is going on in the middle east because the asians will get 90% of their oil from that region. >> you talk about the energy independent agenda is one of the few places where domestic regional and political influences trumped partisan politics and you had a lot of bipartisan ko lircoalitions in south and allowed more drilling on the coast where we were able to do some environmental friendly exploration. i think it is a rare example where u.s. policy pursued first by the clinton administration and then the bush administration and now the obama administration, has pursued the policies that helped us get here. >> they didn't do a damn thing in washington, d.c. don't pat yourself on the back. this is private oil companies and states have stepped out and

developed energy in spite of what they do in washington, d.c. >> and that is the exciting thing. it's exciting because you have people like harold hamm. >> my buddy. >> you know harold? >> haerled arold and i are frie >> he just wrote a column. >> to understand what this guy and people like him have done to figure out how to get oil and natural gas that we used to not be able to get. i mean, it's -- >> by the way, drilled 18 dry holes in montana before he got the first horizontal infract well and he doesn't give up and the kind people that make this country great. >> i'm glad you're here to say that because he did it without washington. he did it in spite of washington. it's going to change the way our children -- the economy is. >> six years ago when transcanada came to me and suggest they build this keystone pipeline across montana i said

not unless you have an on-ramp. we can't ship this by rail any more. they agreed after discussion a year of fighting a little bit they agreed to spend 160 million to take 10% of the oil in that pipeline from balken oil so we didn't have to send it on the rail. washington, d.c., they are are dragging their feet and now this pipeline is going to be built to rupert in british columbia but harold hamm is building his own pipeline that starts in fairview, montana and enough pipeline capacity to get it to the refiners so the balken oil will be taken care of but we cannot continue to send this on rail. you've seen the explosions. it doesn't make sense to put it on rail. it needs to go in pipelines, more saver. the senate will vote about a three-month extension of unemployment benefits for more than a million americans. democrats believe they have the votes to advance the bill.

but house republicans argue the costs should be offset with spending cuts. senators rand paul and chuck schumer laid out their arguments for the bill yesterday. >> i'm not opposed to unemployment insurance. i am opposed to having it without paying for it. i think it's wrong to borrow money from china or put up money for it. what i've always said is it needs to be paid for but we also need to do something for long-term employed people. >> for the first five years of the obama administration, the two issues that dominated were health care and budget deficit. this year, dealing with declining middle class incomes and not enough job growth will be the number one issue. and if on the first day of the new session the republican party says they won't even support unemployment benefit extension, the original round was started by george bush when unemployment was 5.6% and they will show themselves so far out of the

mainstream it will hurt them in the election. >> john meacham this has a theme as we turn the calendar in 2014 not just in new york city but nationally well and talking about unemployment insurance and raising the minuimum wage. talking about washington the inability to get things done. do any of these go through a vote? >> i think you're right. an interesting question whether there is a disconnect or not. if you follow the world, according to "the new york times," and through the new york city corridor, you see that the new mayor is fascinated, rightly, by income and equality. "the times" has been on a very interesting and revealing reporting enterprise about poverty. there was a map, i think yesterday, interactive county-by-county which is totally riveting. the question is -- is that going to translate into legislators outside of those places, those more progressive, liberal

precincts and actually voting for something that the other side would also vote for? we have talked a lot about we need a pro growth agenda in the country and i think that when you get specific, you end up, i fear, right back where we were the last two years, which has not been what i would call a highly competent place legislatively. >> governor, what do you make of all of this? do you think it's a good idea to raise the minimum wanel right n wage right now? >> we targeted it to the inflation rate and goes up every year and i think 15 to 18 states doing that. what are we talking about? 10 dollars and hour and 400 a week and you're raising a family on that? that doesn't work at all. >> right. >> we have to address all of poverty. until we have early education that gives every child an equal opportunity when they hit the first grade, we don't have equality.

the show if you don't know how to read when you get to first grade you never catch up and less likely to graduate from college and less likely to be a high paid executive and more likely to have a menial job and more likely to be in jail if you don't read when you go to first grade. you can't catch up. so take in montana, for example. if both of your parents are college educated and you live in the country club or they have the ability to educate their children before they make it to first grade, that kid is going to be successful. how about that kid who only has one parent and it's her grandmother and her grandmother doesn't speak and she never catches up. we passed a full day in kindergarten so every child has an equal opportunity. we started early. here is what else we did in montana. we challenged the way higher education was delivered and lowered the cost of higher education and six years montana was increasing our adult population with a college degree with the fastest rate in the

country and increased it by 6%. unless you have college graduates you can never catch up with this income equality. >> jon meacham? >> i think one of the things -- i think one of the big issues for that couple of months going forward is who can make the case for government part of what is inevitably a mix of public and private pro growth movement? the governor is right. obviously, education is absolutely the key. but we have seen with health care when the public sector role is debated, the bias in the country, at least in the -- what joe calls the conservative media runs against the public sector. how we get these two wings of the economy together, i think, is a great issue, maybe the key issue, of presidential leadership and, frankly, the president has not been wildly

successful making that case. >> so much goes back to growth. i'm going to say what i heard jeff immelt say before. when we had 2% growth all of these problems we are talking about get more complex, more complicated. >> try 3% growth. >> if we have 3.5% growth, suddenly, boom. things start falling into place. washington has to have a pro growth agenda. you talk about the keystone pipeline those are good paying jobs. would that take care of everybody? no but a mindset and washington getting in the way of growing this economy in a way that could really cause an economic explosion. >> understand this. when we invest in infrastructure in this country whether academic infrastructure or bridges or roads or transmission lines, then there is a payoff 2-1, 3-1, 4-1. when you got war you blow up the bomb and 1-1, that's it. you spent 12 years with blood and treasure and still in afghanistan for god's sake and nobody can remember for the last

11 years why we went there. al qaeda attacked us and now we are fighting somebody calling the taliban and they live in the caves in the stone age. >> speaking of presidential leads. you've called president obama a corporatist and you say hillary clinton could be one too actually? you warn that she could -- >> actually, i didn't say that but i did call him incorporatist. it was written by chuck grassley staffers and max baucus staffers. the problem we had in this country can health care is we paid too much and got too little. since we are paying twice as much as the rest of the industrialized world for our health care, 20% of our dollars go to health insurance companies and in washington, d.c. she said give more money to insurance companies and not less. >> it's so maddening when progresses go oh, this had to be

and this is -- you know, the greatest -- you know, the finest of progressive values in america. no. this is a piece of legislation that it started by them going to big -- and striking a big deal and went to the hospitals and struck a secret deal to the white house and they had to admit later on. then they had to strike a deal with the insurance companies and gave the insurance companies a monopo monopoly. >> a guaranteed profit of -- >> in the legislature. >> this is not a progressive piece of legislation. nothing progressive about this piece of legislation. they talk about guaranteeing coverage for 31 million people but did it by striking deals with big hospitals and big insurance companies and they are all making profits and the rest of us are paying. why has it been the cost curve? because everybody is going to be making money except for, you know? >> here is the problem with the health care system. we paid too much.

why? we have five times as many procedures per patient as the rest of the industrialized world. when you see your doctor with a wart he gives you an mri because where they make their money. that is not making us healthier. in the medicare part d under the bush administration they specifically put in the legislation we will buy that medicine and pay high retail. we pie three times as much of the world for medicine and medical gis and expenses. >> i think the fact you're not in office right now makes you feel more -- >> forthcoming. >> yes. >> i was forthcoming as governor. >> oh, but you have energy today! you have spice. you're running. >> i want to watch. >> he is going to start talking. ask the question. >> what is the question? >> talk. >> i'm going to ask the question. >> you're going to ask a question? >> ask a question. >> yes, i am. >> ask a question. >> oh, really? >> i love you! >> fill it in!

you get to i couldn't any question you want. >> so -- >> i did. >> are you going to run for president? >> i haven't decided that. >> you should. >> i should? >> you should. >> it would ruin my life. take a look -- >> it could help other people. >> is that the crux? >> it really is. >> that is the difference between running and -- >> i have a great life in the private sector right now. >> yeah. >> we have a wonderful mind in montana. the only platinum in the western hemisphere. >> do you think you would be a good president? >> i think so. let me tell you why. as governor every single year i was governor we ed the largest budget surplus in the history of montana. i cut more he taxes than any governor in montana and invested more money in education and increased the percentage of our people with a college degree. if a democrat is good for money, you can't beat them. they believe that we need a safety net for the last and the least but democrats who just write checks and don't check how

much money in the bank account hurt our brand name. when you have a democrat good with money and republicans have to admit it, we don't want to run against him again. >> you're right. former montana governor, brian schweitzer, great point and thank you for being with us. >> i'm going to stand in the wind and get my hair to stand up, joe. it looks good on you. >> i don't know what to do with it. >> it will not have the same effect, but no offense. up next. >> look at that, willie. >> you need to get a haircut! >> i don't think so. i'm going to grow it down to my belt buckle. look at that thing! >> you don't even have a belt buckle? >> can you get me one? >> you want to see a real belt buckle? >> no! i thought it was like donny and take his clothes off. >> i auctioned one of these off so i'll give you that! >> i like this! >> i might even start wearing belts! >> that is beautiful. >> can i have this? >> i gave it to you! >> what do you think? >> that's usa.

>>. >> that's awesome. >> can i have something? >> i think i gave you something. >> you gave me an answer to a question. up next saying he doesn't deserve a spot in the senate and we will ask him what he really thinks. it's changed the way we talk about food. a new book goes inside the big personalities and big drama at the food network. i can't wait to see that. >> we will be right back. ♪ so i tri ed depend so i last weekend.

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welcome back. 24 past the hour. a live look at the white house as the sun comes up over washington. here with us from the pentagon we have msnbc chief pentagon corporate jim miklaszewski with the latest on the developing news out of iraq. jim? >> reporter: overnight for the first time iraqi forces have launched a concerted effort to retake the town of fallujah. that was seized by al qaeda-linked militants and rebels over the weekend.

now, fallujah was considered so important to the war in iraq that american forces launched two major assaults on the city to take it back from militants. they were bloody and costly for americans. 146 americans were killed in those two separate attacks, but as of this morning, those -- the town of fallujah and ramadi in the anbar province are both under control of militants. now, over the weekend, secretary of state john kerry said the idea of putting american forces back on the ground in iraq to help the iraqis take back fallujah was out of the question. instead, they are going to try to provide some aid to the iraqi military to take back those towns, including speeding up delivery of hell-fired missiles and some surveillance drones. but at least as far as two republican senators are concerned, john mccain and

lindsey graham, it's not nearly good enough and they accuse the obama administration of abandoning iraq but what actually sounded like a policy statement out of the white house over the weekend, the white house said it's not in america's interest to get bogged down in open-ended wars in the middle east. mika? >> let me ask you these al qaeda extremities. is it going to be more of a hit and run operation over the coming months and years? >> reporter: if you talk to the experts on this, they don't think the militants do have that staying power that you talk about, joe. but what they do have in their back pocket, of course, is those terrorist attacks. you know, in the last year, they launched so many attacks, so many bombings, suicide bombings, ieds and the like it killed nearly 8,000 iraqis. that is the highest death toll in iraq in the war since the

past six years, so that is the whole card they have to keep going back to, even if the iraqi forces drive them out of fallujah. >> jim miklaszewski, thank you very much. >> you bet. let's bring in republican representative from new york, congressman peter king and here on the set former democratic representative of california, now ceo of the woodrow international scholars, jane harman. >> peter, you said ugly things about me when i was in congress. you said i walked out of tent revivals in bare feet and i was an idiot. >> that was last year. >> it was. but you once said i never belonged in congress and you said that of rand paul. why? >> take the nsa. i support what the nsa is doing. we can have honest differences what their policies but rand paul is hysteria. when he is saying clappet belongs in jail with snowden and

talking about all phone calls are listened to and spying on everyone, the fact he has not been able to cite one abuse by the nsa. the president's commission couldn't cite one abuse. the president says there has been no abuses and the intelligence they gather is absolutely essential. has rand paul say the nsa is listening to anybody's phone calls? he creates this illusion a spying is going on. >> why do you think he would do that? >> another same thing worried about the cia using drones to kill americans in starbucks. he is playing on isolationism and rather than using intelligence arguments as people could well do is he resorting to fear and to the lowest common denominator. he talks about the nsa, for instance. he never talks about the fact the nsa was essential in stopping the liquid bomb attack on the new york city subway system in 2009.

the fact it there would have been hundreds if not thousands of new yorker killed and rand paul ignores that. if we listen to him an attack could have been successful and hundreds of thousands of people would be dead and what would rand paul say then? >> jane, i'll have you respond but first talk about what you read in "the new york times." you say the following. we need to employ the best tools we know how to counter radicalizing messages and to build bridges to the vulnerable. arctticulating the narrative wh the united states stands for is the first task and so far we have a hard time making the sell. recent state department efforts are promising the centers for messages to counterextremists. in preventing the attacks, i take it you agree with peter that the nsa and getting as much intel as we can is important?

>> i do, i do. peter and i served together on the house homeland security for years. we worked closely together. i think it's fine for congress to pass legislation to create more limits and fountain administration wants to get rid of the so-called sec hundred 215, the phone record section and do things another way that is more acceptable to the american people, bravo. but we need a program that intercepts messages and prevents and disrupts plots against us. this program that we have had while perhaps it should have been narrower has been extremely effective and not been abused. >> i don't know if any two individuals that deserve more credit for helping to explain to the public why the policies that were put in place to combat and protect this country from terrorism were necessary than the two of you. i think that part of what is going on now is there is a vacuum. there is no -- our president has

done a lot of the right things but he has chosen not to explain why the programs are necessary. if both of you could address the damage that does in helping the public understand why we need these programs. >> i actually think the president has addressed this and has defended nsa. >> he has done the right policy thing. >> and going to do more in the state of the union message from what i hear and haven't been consulted about this and should do more. i think it would be good. back to joe's original question about a narrative. i think we need his administration needs to be visible in the middle east in syria and in other place in iraq and other places that are disintegrated. no boots on the ground but our narrative has to be the one john kerry is pushing. >> is it going too far from behind the president? >> kerry i think is leading too far in front. if we could get a peace deal, that would ab reset moment for the u.s. and the middle east and if we can do something in iran, i applaud what contrary is trying to do.

i think the senate will hang bang on the sanctions legislation. should get a veto proof list of sponsors but not pass it now and not give iran a reason to pass away. >> nicole says the president has not done a good enough job of explaining to the american people. do you agree, peter? >> i do. the sounds apologetic in defending them and talking about reforms in the nsa but doesn't say why. if the policy is working effectively why should certain reforms be made? i think the president has to be more aggressive because you have rand paul and democrats and republicans somehow demonize the nsa and carrying out the war for us. in many ways they don't realize al qaeda and its affiliates are dangerous if not more so today than on september 11th, 2001. >> it's not listening to phone calls. we have to understand exactly what it is they are doing which

is complicated, but not that complicated. >> congressman peter king, thank you so much. >> jane harman, thank you as well. >> joe, nice hair. it goes with your bare feet. >> he is getting a haircut. >> you know what? i'm not. i'm going to grow it. >> going like "duck dynasty"? >> look at that. it keeps going. >> who is the archie? >> all i can say is go niners. >> what about that, huh? what a game. >> impressive. >> kaepernick, once again, doing a great job. stop that! >> stop! that's not good! the prime time host of the 2014 olympics, bob costas will talk about the olympic games and who is the host in sochi? >> not us. >> barefoot? look at that!

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♪ ♪ up next, "the new york times" reporter allen sulkan gives us the inside story of the food network and how the 20-year-old challenge has changed the way americans think about food. "morning joe" will be right

back. ♪ stood in the street smiling from my head to her feet ♪ [ male announcer ] here's a question for you: is your tv powered by coal? natural gas? nuclear? or renewables like solar... and wind? let's find out. this is where america's electricity comes from. a diversity of energy sources helps ensure the electricity we need is reliable. take the energy quiz. energy lives here.

♪ so i started miking my marshmallow stars from my white hot chocolate. what i did was melt semisweet chocolate and melting the marshmallows. >> i have sue -- sue kezucchini >> they are nice and crispy. this is gameday time and gameday food. >> when i think about fried food, i think about fried fish, fried shrimp, fried chicken. but the thing that i think about most? french fries. to me is a that is the pure essence of perfect pride food. >> so good, i can't stand it.

>> it's addictive. al alan is with us. i love it. such good stories behind the scenes. what do you think the highest drama was and the biggest personality was that you covered here? >> the food network every two years seems to have some explosion of problem because human beings are very difficult to be in business with. they do things like, say, racist remarks or get arrested for things. >> that's a problem. >> so paula deen was obviously the latest troubled star. >> you cover the entire drama. >> yes. >> behind the scenes to that drama that poured over into the public. you said there was an issue from the get-go just from even like meeting her agent? >> paula deen started -- her agent barry wiener who was born ethnic chinese but adopted by

jewish parents. the first she met them you don't look like that. >> wow. >> but barry was trying to get paula on the air for years and the network was composed mostly of new yorkers who were very biased against the kind of food paula wanted to cook, fried checken. >> fattening? >> haand low brow. they thought it was very gourmet. >> chef versus cook is how you -- >> it wasn't until after 9/11 after rachael ray debuted and your next door neighbor, that they gave paula deen a chance and it took years of success until the problems happened. >> the biggest egos among the celebrity chefs, what did you find out? >> i like people as a journalist who will give me interviews. >> yes. >> i think there people who are loved and hated. everybody has their favorite star on the network.

bobby flay is a great new york street kid personality. you ask him where he went to college and he'll say ucla which you know is the university of corner of lexi lexington avenue? >> right. >> he is a bit of an ego but successful. he is in way hero of the book and who survived. guy, his childhood heroes were evel knievel and elvis. >> you talk about the up and down of the network and how your viewing habits as well. they really haven't produced any new stars. >> that's right. >> that is part of the problem? >> you saw that in the lead-in. the most recent star was there guy. >> i call him guy -- >> after his marriage he changed it to fieti which he says is sis grandfather's name. the network was minting new stars every couple of months have last that magic formula.

>> allen, i've followed a few food shows once in a while but i'm not -- is there eranyone wh has mastered selling the food? >> i think a problem where the network is now. 20 years ago when they started, nobody knew what kale was. they have been teaching us more healthy ways to cook and now you have young people who are saying we don't watch food network any more and the cooking channel which is the spin-off channel hasn't captured that voice. people now who always ask me why isn't there a vegetarian show? now the network is still throwing stuff on the air like cutthroat kitchen and more and more competition shows. their sophistication does not seem to match it because they are leaning harder and harder on their old stars and they don't seem to have tapped that new voice which is exactly what

you're talking about. >> there it is. >> the thing that would get you to watch. >> something else needs to emerge, exactly. >> our books have nora efron in common. she had an early morning show that they had and she was offered her own cooking show. trisha yearwood has a show. >> really? >> i think people would be mad at my show but maybe. we will try it. allen, thank you. the book is from scratch inside the food network big personalities and high drama. the extraordinary behind the scenes story. thank you so much. >> such an honor to be on the show. >> that's so nice. still ahead, bob costas will join us. you're watching "morning joe." we will be right back. ♪

[ male announcer ] this man has an accomplished research and analytical group at his disposal. ♪ but even more impressive is how he puts it to work for his clients. ♪ morning. morning. thanks for meeting so early. oh, it's not a big deal at all. come on in. [ male announcer ] it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. ♪ [ laughing ] or use my magic wand to make rainbows fall from the sky. [ female announcer ] remember when you thought anything was possible? [ laughing ] it still is. you can do weight watchers new simple start plan entirely online or on that magic phone of yours. it's a 2-week plan to start losing weight right away.

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♪ there goes my hero ♪

that's the snowboard parallel slalom, one of the 12 new events making their debut. the winter olympics beginning in a few weeks. joining us with a preview, the prime-time host yet again of the olympics, bob costas. >> and nobody knows more about the snowboard parallel slalom than i do. >> of course. >> at least, come february 6th. >> walk us through, bob, what make as great parallel snowboarder. >> first thing is, you have to stay parallel. >> there it is. >> new get perpendicular, it's all askew. >> historically, what sort of physical traits have made these -- what are they called again -- >> parallel snowboarders? >> -- really good in the past? >> you know, really, the history -- >> where's sochi? tell me where that is. >> so muchically, somewhere in russia. near the caucuses. >> near the caucuses. >> the ideal place to set an olympics. i think the ioc is eyes yemen and perhaps syria for future

olympic games. >> we are following the world cup down a, like, a rabbit hole. >> bob, you've been the prime-time host going back to barcelona, do i have that right? for nbc. this is completely different than any games you've covered, is that fair to say? >> it is. there's always concerns about terrorism, dating to munich in 1972, and we had a tragic incident in centennial park in atlanta, one of the few areas that wasn't secure. they wanted to create an open, free-flowing area, and there was a tragedy that ensue. but here you have indigenous terrorists, not that far away. but what the russian government is doing is creating this giant perimeter of security, not just immediately around the venues, the hotels, the broadcast center, but extending out tens of miles beyond it. so that even if you're a spectator, you have to be credentialed. you don't just have to have a ticket, you have to be

credentialed to get in. there's 40,000 russian policemen and military forces there bolstered by perhaps american forces, as well. nothing is certain. but i think if you're within the olympic perimeter, you'll be okay. but what could happen outside is a different question. >> right. they're calling it the ring of steel. what does that do to the feel of the games? we were in london, yes, tons of security, but it didn't feel like a police state. i don't know if you felt that way. everyone was polite and friendly. this might have a different feel. >> i think it will have a little different feel. and with all due respect, although sochi is a resort area favored by certain well-to-do russians, sochi doesn't have the kind of appeal that london would have -- >> oh, please, please. you just haven't been to sochi now. it's one of my favorite spots in the caucus. >> i don't even know where it is! i have no idea! >> on the black sea.

>> so it's on the black sea. >> it's on the black sea. >> so this is -- >> not that far from the georgian border. not that far from the north caucuses. well situated near international hot spots. >> so this is what happens. the beijing olympics, this happens all of the time. beijing olympics coming up, making fun of the smog. we're thinking it will be a joke. i can't believe we pushed this on the chinese before they were ready, and we were mocking it. look at the beautiful -- by the end of the olympics we were, like, my god that may have been the best olympics, and this happens every two years where you think, you know, everybody looks at the limitations, and the athletes come in and blow you away, and suddenly it's special. >> and that will be, fingers crossed that security doesn't pose a problem -- it's a concern, but let's hope that nothing happens and it looks like they've taken every measure -- then what becomes front and center? the performance of the athletes. the cultural panorama. the emotion. the stories we know nothing

about. that's one of the things unique to the olympics. the nfl playoffs are going on right now. san diego chargers, let's say, weren't expected to make the playoffs. if and when they envest, everybody will know their entire roster. the difference between that and the olympics, most of the athletes, once every four years at most, maybe once in a lifetime, and they step out of the shadows of the solitary preparation and onto the biggest international stage in all of sporting, and it gives it a kind of drama, and everything they've prepared for often comes down to a few minutes or a few seconds. >> what's it like for you? i know you, like me, growing up would see jim mckay do this. >> yes. >> and sit in front of the tv set, and it was so big, and it seemed like another world. i'm sure you're gotten used to it by now, doing this all the way since '92, but what a great honor -- >> it is. >> -- to be able to sit in that chair, watching these incredible athletes, following in the footsteps of jim mckay.

>> it's an honor and a responsibility. because thousands of nbc people have been working for years now, traveling the globe to put the features together, put background information together. i'd be lost without the researchers and the producers who get me up to speed -- >> you talk about the responsibility, but also that moment when jim mckay stopped talking about sports -- >> right. >> -- and suddenly had to tell the entire world what was happening in munich. >> and you have to be ready for that possibility. i got a small taste in 1996 in atlanta, although tom brokaw was there to assist. the difference in 1972 was that technology was such that really jim mckay and nbc sports were all that anyone had to turn to. now, should, heaven forbid something happen, brian williams will be there, the full force of the "today" show, nbc news would be there, so i would be a part of it, but it wouldn't be my lone responsibility. >> extending the mckay comparison, because that's where we all sort of follow the olympic, i'm an old school, i like the winter games over the

summer. skiing, hockey. >> do you really? >> maybe because i grew up playing hockey. the new sport element of it, is it working? is the strategy to bring in the millennials that could -- >> yes. that's the idea. the idea is to bring in younger viewers who like x game-type sports. i said to matt lauer a few minutes ago, i think johnny knoxville should be the honorary president of the ioc, because a lot of the stuff is jack ass like, hey, here's something we did in the back yshd on youtube. good, let's give it a gold medal and call it an olympic sport. >> by the way, wildly entertaining. >> thank you for promoting the brand and making it glisten. >> which one of you will get the interview of vladimir putin cross country skiing. >> he's a bad hockey player. >> saw him skating yesterday. >> he fancies himself as the athlete. >> yeah, i'd like to go against him. >> bob, we're looking forward to

seeing you over there. >> thanks, willie. thanks -- >> mika. mika want -- >> what's wrong with this picture? >> yes. >> going, going -- >> going, going, not -- >> they never let us -- >> are you going or aren't you? >> they will never let us go. >> i can arrange for you to go. if you'd like my seat on the charter. >> by the way, they'll let me show you where it is, mika. i don't know that we want to go. there you go. >> fascinating. >> check off the short stories. >> you could detour to the ukraine if you like. >> i love the ukraine. >> easy day trip. >> bob spent the summer there. >> we'll be right back. >> thank you, bob. >> it's a history lesson. for over a decade

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♪ i seen your picture good morning, it's 8:00 on the east coast, 5:00 a.m. on the west coast, as you take a live look at new york city. back with us on set, we have nicole wallace, richard haas, and john nachem. nbc news has learned that liz cheney is expected to drop her bid for u.s. senate in wyoming. political reports a number of factors, including a recent family incident causing her to reconsider. you may remember cheney and her sister, mary, who is gay, publicly sparred over same-sex marriage. liz cheney issued a statement against gay marriage and the

feud, mary posted, liz's position is to treat my family as second class citizens. this isn't like a disagreement over grazing fees or what to do about iran. former vice president dick cheney came to liz's defense, saying she always treated her with respect. liz cheney has spent much of her professional life in washington, d.c., and struggled to prove her wyoming credit. her campaign focused on her family roots. >> our family came here in 1852, walking the mormon trail. >> my great-grandfather settled in 1907. >> she's also trailed in public polling and saw veteran republican lawmakers flock to incumbent mike enzi's corner. so liz cheney expected to drop out. that's big news. we also want to take a look at something going on with hillary clinton, but first, i want to get joe and nicole's take on liz

cheney. what do you think? >> i think there are a lot more people who loved and admired liz cheney, than loved and admired her campaign. >> yeah. >> this was a campaign made all the more difficult by people feeling like she revealed some of the impulses that would make her a less impressive politician than people had seen, frankly, during the bush years. she went out and -- >> so you know her? >> i worked alongside liz and mary cheney for the president and vice president's re-election. >> they fight each other a lot? >> no, no. this is so shocking to everyone who knew the cheneys, because the cheneys have really always stood together, not just as a family, but as warriors, as political warriors. so to see liz have to wage a campaign with the divided family front -- >> it was hard. >> -- not one of her assets but burdens, it was dismaying. >> we got a statement from the cheney campaign. it reads, as follows. serious health issues have recently arisen in our family, and under the circumstance, i

have decided to discontinue my campaign. my children and their futures were the motivation for our campaign, and their health and well-being will be always be an overriding -- >> yeah, sounds like something wrong. we wish liz and her family all the best. >> it's important we don't make more of the disputes, because sometimes they're overblown and misunderstood and get worse in the press. >> they have nothing to do with the decision. >> completely different, exactly. let's get to hillary 2016. >> usually disputes in my family that weren't overblown. >> well, in my family, they're definitely not overblown. they sometimes end up on the front lawn. is that bad? well, my brothers. >> no, a duel out there. >> the republican, the democrat, my dad stirring the pot, my mother, ooh, adding something. >> turkey being turned apart. >> iraq was actually one of the big issues, because my brother worked for the bush administration, and mark had worked for clinton before.

>> big neocon. >> where does he want to invade today? >> i think canada. >> we need to have him on, talk about ukraine, talk about iraq. >> canada. >> can we do that? do you like him? he's nice. he's a good guy. all right. we're still two years away from the presidential race, but an outside group of hillary clinton backers are beginning to coalesce around her possible bid. a new detailed report by politico's maggie haverman describes an intricate campaign-in-waiting. on one side, a dozen clinton staffers and loyalists that make up her inner circle, and on the other, pacs looking for her blessing. there were rifts forming and an inability to control the messages. but at clinton's direction, the groups have begun to make peace and take shape. now, according to politico, priorities usa, which backed president obama in the last cycle, will handle mega donors.

the grassroots -- i know, so ready to go. come on. it's hard to read, like, it's surprising, because it's not, right? is it fair to say that? >> i don't know. no, no, it's not that i'm more careful. i'm not sure she's going to run. >> right, okay. >> you're sure she's going to run? >> oh, god, you're going to set that -- please. >> is everybody sure she's going to run? is everybody around the table, because i know people that are pretty close to her that say they're not so sure. richard, are you sure that hillary will run? >> 90%. >> yeah, i -- what else are they going to do? >> i'm going to just -- you know, you told me to just read the news. >> really? >> nobody's asked her. maybe she doesn't want to run for president. if you read maggie's piece, there's a whole group within clinton land, as maggie puts, that thinks she shouldn't run. >> and there are always people pushing -- because they want to be in the right position, with the right person runs, because they want that, you know, that office closest to the president

on the west wing. whenever that happens. so again, people get out in front of candidates all the time. you know, i've heard similar things about chris christie, that people around chris christie think that running for president is a lot neater idea than chris christie might think running for president is a neat idea, when it's 10 below zero in iowa and you're getting yelled at by, you know, somebody on the street. >> right. my old boss charlie peters used to talk about how the day after election in washington you'd see very crisp, new bumper stickers of whoever had just won. this sort of the other side of that. you put them on now, and if it doesn't work out -- joe, we were always with you, man. >> yeah. i heard that a lot. i heard that a lot. >> we need biden, you know, i'm sure they're ready. >> yeah, exactly. >> you know, again, whoever just said what else are they going to do, i think has a good point. >> yeah, that's it.

that was me. >> perfect. you always crystallize things, nicole. >> joe laughing in the background to the "what else are they going to do?" >> we've got to get to -- >> parchisi tournaments in the catskills. >> no, they'll be running. >> you're saying they can't help themselves? >> no, yeah, you just did. there are growing concerns this morning about stability in iraq after islamists extremists affiliated with al qaeda took control of two key cities. iraqi officials yesterday said they were able to take back parts of ramadi. the progress was made after heavy fighting between members of iraq's military and the sunni militants. it is a different story in fallujah. officials are struggling to gain control, and some militia forces have joined forces with the al qaeda-linked militants outraged by the shiite government. secretary of state john kerry says the militants are, quote, the most dangerous players in

the region, adding that while the u.s. is committed to helping the iraqi government, we will not send troops back in. >> this is a fight that belongs to the iraqis. that is exactly what the president and the world decided sometime ago when we left iraq. so we are not, obviously, contemplating returns. we're not contemplating putting boots on the ground. this is their fight. but we're going to help them in their fight. >> so let's talk about the growing influence of al qaeda in the middle east, in iraq, in syria. is this america's greatest threat right now? >> it's becoming that way. what you have are weak central governments throughout the region for the most part. we worry about strong governments. middle east, you worry about weak ones that can't police their own territory, that can't fulfill the obligations of sovereignty. plus borders don't count for a lot. you have groups one place, say in syria, and they start going into places like iraq. you're now having an entire region in many ways that is being overwhelmed.

i don't know any other word for it. overwhelmed. you might call them militia-ization of the middle east. we think of states, capitals, governments of 21st century europe. that's not the middle east. you do a lot better thinking about 17th century europe. >> and, nicole, americans don't want to hear about this. they don't care. >> yeah. >> it's -- they're shut down. we did our time there. we gave everything we had. just don't even talk to us about it right now. >> i think, though, we talked about the show, i asked you about the influence or the impact that the power vacuum we've created, what impact that's had in the region. and i'm fascinated by the admission that certainly our policies and this administration's policies has contributed to deteriorating conditions there. >> what policies? let's be specific. >> well, tell me before the

show -- >> keeping a residual force in iraq, we should have pushed harder. it would not have prevented things but made them less likely. it's the same argument you seep a residual force in afghanistan, not simply walk away and let it work itself out. because these are places that aren't ready. "the new york times" has a story about a post-american middle east, where iran and saudi arabia go after it, hammer and tong, you have the militias, the terrorist groups. and this, i'm afraid, is the future essentially arriving in the middle east. >> you know what's so fascinating, it's arriving in the middle east, but also reports out now obviously, when you talk about energy, one of the reasons we were so focused on energy, willie, in the middle east, was because it was so critical for our economic well-being. >> we're exporting now. >> we're exporting more than importing. >> the dynamic has shifted. >> we're not going to be importing any oil from the

middle east in the next five to ten years. asia's going to be importing 90% of their oil from the middle east. we'll import none from saudi arabia, none from these other countries. and it's going to completely shift our priorities. it's going to be asia that's going to have to be more concerned about the stability of these governments than the united states. >> and think how quickly that happened. if the argument that we went to iraq for oil, that was ten years ago. >> right. >> but that was never a legitimate -- >> no, i understand. >> your press release, i know. listen, it wasn't the specific reason why, but it -- >> i feel like i've slipped into a michael moore movie. we did not go to war in iraq because of oil. >> there was a reason, though, why these countries were so dysfunctional, and there's a reason why the united states had to focus on the middle east over 50 years. >> i just meant we don't have to give as much attention and care to the middle east -- >> the notion we went to iraq or that we're in the region for oil

is ludicrous. i mean, i think after 9/11, we engaged the military -- >> but oil made -- oil made that region what that region was. the guy that blew up the world trade center -- the trade centers got his money, got his funding from petro dollars. his father built the middle east on oil. his father loaned the king of saudi arabia money. i mean, i'm not saying specifically in iraq it was because we wanted to grab their oil supplies. i'm just saying, the entire middle east backdrop -- >> there's a distinction between being involved -- >> there's a reason we went into iran in 1950 when they were trying to nationalize the oil. >> there's a difference between this part of the world being strategically important because of oil. exactly right. it is and always will be, and even if we don't need it, it will be important for the global energy situation, and the united states getting involved for commercial reasons, and the answer was the former not the latter.

commercial reach of oil had nothing to do with u.s. foreign policy. but the strategic importance of the region, in no small part because of oil, yes, of course, that mattered. >> and that's what -- >> nicole, do you agree? i'm inarticulate, i understand. i've been smoking a lot of dope. i went out to colorado. >> are we going that way in new york, i saw that, i'm so depressed. >> exciting. >> no, no. >> you touched on a little bit -- >> dope in the future, dope wars. instead of oil. >> we've heard more of it, the criticism of president obama, we got out too fast, too soon. you talked about residual forces there. we'll see it again in afghanistan. the question, i guess, is how long do we stay there to make it stable? how long will it take? because it's been centuries and nothing has happened. why is it worth it? isn't there a law of diminishing returns? >> a small amount of troops

might be a good investment. >> what would they do, other than get shot and killed? >> largely train and advise the local government and do limited counterterrorism. you're going to see u.s. troops going in and out of the region to perform counterterrorism issues, because we're not going to have partners. that will still be a big threat. we can't ignore the middle east. we are going to have a much lighter footprint. the era of iraqs and afghanistans is over. >> the middle east is not going to strategically be what it was over the past 50 years over the next 50 years. >> you're right. this is not the part of the world that writes 21st century. it's much more asia. to me, the biggest strategic issue is less unraveling of the middle east, which is slow and predictable. it will be japan, korea, can they sort it out? and quite honestly, it's not clear they can. >> john mecham, you were probably still at your mother's breast when the oil embargo came about.

maybe playing tee ball. i don't know what you were doing. >> wow. >> in 1970, when was the embargo, '73, '74, that shap shaped -- >> he was 10. definitely still at his mother's best. >> oh, definitely was. >> oh, my god. >> there are these types -- >> they breast-feed until they're 6 or 7 years old. it's terrible. it's a southern thing from what i hear. >> oh, my god. >> i'm sure you had some in your frat. >> you know, it's negative 10 here. i'm glad i put on my rubber boots. >> your duck boots. >> -- breast-feeding. >> exactly. >> so in a way, you were very young during the oil embargo in '73 or '74. you take that shock, you take what happened in 1979, the iranian hostage crisis, we have had a generation of leaders whose foreign policy world view shaped by the scarcity of oil

and our reliance on dictators and thugs and radical regimes. i mean, that's changes. that's going to be -- that's going to be one of the major foreign policy shifts over the next 50 years. we're going to be the number-one oil exporter in the world. it's a historical change, and i don't think americans have focused on this enough. >> no, i don't either. and moving beyond breasts or pre -- >> you don't have to. >> it's all right. >> look at him. >> -- richard, fact-check me on this -- you don't need an invitation to do that, but i would argue that that world actually took shape when fdr was on his way back from yalta, and they sacrificed a goat on the warship, and they -- >> willie and i did that this past weekend at the -- >> yeah, yeah. >> -- down at the ship on the -- >> the "intrepid."

>> and it was found wandering in central park. >> that was my dog, jerk. >> we started building the alliance with saudi arabia and that began to shape the -- both the cold war policy, which was also a huge part of our support for iran and the shah through the same period you're talking about, so this has been almost a 70-year thing, or 80-year cycle. but i would argue that we don't really know what that foreign policy is going to look like. richard said a minute ago the era of iraqs and afghanistans is over. i would throw back at richard, didn't we think that in 2000, up until august 2001, we wouldn't have thought we'd project power in that way around the world until the attacks happened? >> richard? >> i feel pretty confident, john, saying that we're not going to go back to sending hundreds of thousands of americans to occupy and remake societies in the greater middle east. i do think that era is over, and

for good reason. i think what we're going to become is much more narrow in our interests, with counterterrorism. do something against proliferation. we might try to help broker this or that agreement. might shore up a jordan against refugee inflows, but the era of remaking the middle east, huh-uh, too big, too hard. too many other things to worry about. i don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. we got overly involved in trying to remake the innards of the middle east. we got overly ambitious. and it distorted american foreign policy. the idea we've done as much as we've done there, and done so little elsewhere, i think strategists of the future will scratch their head and say, where did the americans lose their way? >> and by the way, people who say it's about israel, miss the bigger point. it's about oil. it's about oil and not the war specifically, but that's what what's -- we would not be talking about wars in the middle east any more than we talk about wars in the center of africa if it weren't for oil. >> it's about the strategic commodity of oil.

it's about israel. it's also about proliferation. it's about terrorism. it's all those things. you're right, oil is the backdrop and the strategic, not the commercial sense, and that's the principal difference between that part of the world -- >> by the way, nicole, we have to go to break, one of the reasons i was okay with the first gulf war was because saddam hussein amassed troops on the border, and if he'd gone into kuwait, the amount of oil reserves the guy would have had, and the ability did, it would have major impact on our economy, it was significant enough to stop him from doing that. as much as i love the kuwaiti people and i want them to be free. you know? >> he controlled one-fifth of the oil supply, between iraq and kuwait, and on the border with saudi arabia, which gave him effective control over saudi arabia. saddam hussein was poised to suddenly be one of two, three most important people in the world. coming up on "morning joe," we'll check in with politico's mike allen, plus a fiery plane crash at an aspen airport leaves

one person dead. the most expensive show in broadway history puts on the final performance. the end of "spider-man," for the love of god, turn off the dark. here's bill karins with a check on the forecast. >> historic cold air spilling across the country, mika and joe. and we're watching the arctic outbreak break out across the gulf coast. we have 20 states with wind chill warnings and 34 states with advisories. the states to the north by far the worst. one of my good friends and colleagues out in green bay this morning. let's see if you can identify her voice. that's all we can see is just the eyes and hear the voice. >> reporter: my voice is a dead giveaway. yeah, i just choose not to uncover any of my skin right now, bill. >> amazing. >> just so you know, it's me. 12 below. honestly, the coldest air i've ever experienced. wind is gusting up to 20, 30

miles per hour. it feels like it's 40 below. this little instrument here, bottoms out at 19.9 degrees below zero. i think we're going to get to that at some point. i don't know if it explodes after that, or what. it is brutally cold. yesterday, we had the packers game, and they weren't even fazed by the cold. granted, about five degrees yesterday, so top 15 coldest nfl game. it didn't break the record with the ice bowl in 1967 when it was 13 below. yeah, people were kind of hoping that it could be a little bit colder, just to break a record, as long as you're out there standing in it. but it didn't happen. the packers also didn't win. but either way, it is -- >> dylan, we have a picture of somebody grilling a beer at the game with green bay. >> reporter: i told them they needed beer with higher alcohol content so it wouldn't freeze. that was the only way to thaw it out. >> tell you what, you're wearing minus 12 well in green bay. you and your crew get inside the warm van in a hurry. >> reporter: we will. >> the word out of the midwest, it's an indoor day. a lot of kids aren't going to

school in indianapolis, st. louis, detroit. you know, it's just one of those afternoons and mornings that you just want to stay inside. now, let's shift our attention to the east, because we've had a lot of problems this morning with dense fog in new england. we have a tenth of a mile visibility in hartford, as low as it gets. now it's raining in areas like new york city. over 2,500 flights already cancelled across the country today. this arctic outbreak, and then the rain in new england, the fog, it's one of those really difficult travel days. you can see the rain sweeping through the northeast this morning, and the temperatures will fall. today, we're going to see highs early this morning in areas like new york and d.c. in the 40s. it was 55 degrees in new york city an hour ago. the arctic air is going to move through, and the cold air is heading to the east tomorrow where temperatures will be 60 to 70 degrees cooler when you factor in the wind chills. the last thing i want to say, good news for everyone, the january thaw is probably on its way next week. indianapolis, 12 inches of snow

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it's not like i don't tuck in my shirt. >> well, these are layla joys -- this buckle that, like, wraps around and around and supposed to be sexy. >> maybe boots shouldn't be that hard. >> no, okay, i love them. let's look at the morning papers. we'll start with the parade of papers. the" colorado springs gazette."

skrae investigators are investigating a plane crash en route from new mexico, it flipped upside down on landing. the jet then quickly went up in flames. one person was killed, two others hurt. one seriously. all three people on board were pilots. >> it's such a dangerous airport. i've never been in or out of it, but i've heard so many stories about -- >> i wonder if the weather -- i think the weather. >> yeah, my gosh. "new york daily news," one person dead and others critically injured after a high-rise fire. it broke out on the 20th floor of the 41-story building around 11:00 a.m. on sunday. and officials say both victims were hurt while trying to escape in a stairwell. the cause of the fire is still under investigation. "chicago tribune" three new schools are open in joplin, as the town continues to rebuild following the tornado in 2011. all three school also have tornado-safe rooms. 1,450 students will move to two new elementary schools, and one

new middle school. a high school is scheduled to open in the fall. 161 people died in the storm. it was the deadliest tornado in u.s. history. >> and from "wall street journal," jpmorgan plans to reach a $2 billion deal this week. >> $2 billion. >> okay, you know what, how many penalties are jpmorgan -- can't they -- >> is this related to the burnny madoff. >> can't they just write a check? they have a different settlement every week. more than $1 billion paid to the justice department and the rest to the victims of madoff's ponzi scheme. the penalties are the latest for the bank, which has already paid $20 billion in various government investigations. >> "l.a. times" pope francis is heading to the holy land. he announced yesterday he will travel to israel, the west bank, and jordan may 24th to may 26th. pope francis will become the fourth pontiff to visit the region. meanwhile, the vatican is rejecting reports that the pope

may be open to recognizing civil unions for same-sex couples. he made the comments recently about children living with gay couples, saying, quote, on an educational level, gay unions range challenges for us today, which are sometimes difficult to understand. i remember a case in which a sad little girl confessed to her teacher, my mother's girlfriend doesn't love me, how can we proclaim christ to a generation that is changing? the vatican says pope francis' words were manipulated. and rock 'n' roll pioneer phil everly, of everly brothers, died, he and brother don had monster hits like "bye-bye love" to "all i have to do is dream." incredible songwriters. they were so extraordinarily influential, you know, whether it's the beach boys or the beatles, or everybody that came out and had an extraordinary

influence. we had them recently talking about the first time he ever met the everly brothers. >> of course, me and allen clark, two little kid, acoustic guit guitars, want to be in the business. we decide to meet everly brothers, and near the midland hotel, we figured that's where they were staying. we waited on the steps of the midland hotel until 1:30 in the morning. they came out of a nightclub, slightly drunk, but instead of just, patting us on the bed and encouraging us, they stood and talked to me and allen clark on the steps for what seemed like 20 minutes, and it changed my life completely. >> how amazing is that? phil everly died in burbank. he was 74 years old. >> "the new york times," "spider-man" turn off the dark, ended its run with a technical issue in the middle of a number.

the $75 million production, the most expensive, was plagued with problems from the start. technical glitches and frequent cast injuries put the show in the headlines. the decision to close the play came in light of the high production costs of more than $1 million a week. >> wow. but, boy, it was worth it, willie geist. >> oh, my god. >> i never got a chance to see it, but i hear great things around the table. >> no doubt, willie, 30 years from now you'll be regretting that. people will be asking, where were you when "spider-man" closed? >> yeah, no, you won't. >> nicole and her familien joyed it thoroughly. let's go to mike allen, a look at the playbook. mike, good morning. >> happy monday, willie. >> happy monday. we started this morning talking about maggie haverman, hillary clinton's shadow campaign, and joe threw it around the table, asking each of us if we think she will run in 2016. the consensus seems she will. what do we learn more from maggie's piece?

>> well, willie, you look at the detail of the planning for this campaign, and allies of secretary clinton with her sometimes participating are doing every single thing you would do if you were going to build a presidential campaign. there was a political briefing for her at her mansion in georgetown, looking at filing deadlines, very detailed plan from big democrats in d.c. about how you would do it. they've pushed back. the publication debt for her memoir was going to be in june. now later in the summer. so closer to the time when she would announce, which would come after midterm elections. she's talking about policy she can develop, looking at childhood development policy. she knows she'll have to talk about income inequality. the outside fund-raising groups are splitting up the pie, ready for hillary is going to accept donations up to $25,000. priorities usa, which was the

main super pac behind president obama and his re-election, they're going to take on the mega donors. so the shadow campaign is less shadowy all the time. now, willie, there's one asterisk to this, and that's that there are people in secretary clinton's orbit who are advising, no, and they include cheryl mills, one of the closest people to her, maggie williams, longtime advisors, who are saying, do we really want this to possibly end in a bad way? a modern campaign changes your dna. it's uncertain, do we really want to wade into that? >> quickly, do you think hillary clinton, when push comes to shove, will resist the proposition she could become an historic american president? >> willie, that's a very aptly put and every single person i talk to close to her says there's not a single sign she won't do it. >> mike allen, thanks. it's a ride only a handful of people have ever taken. nbc's peter alexander gets rare

access inside marine one. the world's most famous helicopter. he jones us next. more "morning joe" when we come back. so ally bank has a raise your rate cd that won't trap me in a rate. that's correct. cause i'm really nervous about getting trapped. why's that? uh, mark? go get help! i have my reasons. look, you don't have to feel trapped with our raise your rate cd. if our rate on this cd goes up, yours can too. oh that sounds nice. don't feel trapped with the ally raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally. i tr ied r money needs an ally. depend last weekend. it really made the difference between a morning around the house and getting a little exercise. unlike the bargain brand, depend gives you new fit-flex®, our best protection. it's a smooth and comfortable fit with more lycra strands.

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39 past the hour. welcome back to "morning joe." joining us from the white house, nbc news' white house correspondent peter alexander. peter, we hear you got a rare look at what happens behind the scenes of marine one? >> reporter: we did, mika and joe, happy new year. >> happy new year. >> reporter: we're going to take you on board marine one. this is something very few people get to experience. we're outside the west wing right now, as the president returns to work. like air force one, marine one is a call sign that's only used when the president's on board, but the presidential helicopter squadron also flies the president, foreign heads of state, even the pope when they're here, and nbc news was recently invited on board. 30 miles south of washington, d.c., this high-security hangar inside marine base quantico is called the cage. it's the home of the unmistakable white-topped aircraft, the helicopters that flies the president, known as

marine one. more than 30 aircraft in all. this exclusive squadron is called hmx1, a hand-picked team of 700 pilots, specialists, and mechanics, like 23-year-old corporal casey kirkpatrick. among the things you check is the door. >> yes. this is very important. the president sits right on the other side of this door. >> reporter: marine one's been shuttling presidents since dwight eisenhower was in office. it's where a disgraced nixon waved good-bye and george w. bush brought along his best friend. today, marine one flies president obama across the country and around the world, 137 trips last year alone. >> the best then i do is to stand out there and to salute him as the crew chief. that's the greatest honor for me. >> reporter: staff sergeant jason diaz is one of four marine one crew chiefs elected by his peers and responsible for the entire helicopter. every minute detail is closely checked, the exterior,

manicuring the carpet inside, and if necessary, they build some of their own parts. the final touch, the presidential seal, often under the watchful eyes of valjean ballard. >> everything has to be picture perfect. i look it over, make sure it's the way i want it. if there's the tiniest little smudge, i go back over, no, you need to do that. >> reporter: not just anyone can fly the president. after three years of training, only four pilots make it to marine one. among this year's class, major nate storm. >> there's so much riding on that, you know, the most powerful man in the world is riding in the back of your helicopter. it is pretty stressful. >> reporter: the training includes hours inside a flight simulator. the challenge is to have them land at one of the most challenging addresses. they briefly handed me the control. >> whoa. >> reporter: sorry, the simulator has a tendency to drift to the left --

>> next time remind me to take my dramamine. >> reporter: yeah, i tell you what. nothing compares to the real thing. this is probably where marine one lands most often, the white house south lawn, and nbc news was given access on board as the marine one crew practiced takeoffs and landings with the president away. marine one flies roughly 200 feet above the ground, confined to a narrow flight path winding around some of the capital's iconic landmarks. >> flying right beside the jefferson memorial, make the right-hand turn by the washington monument, and that thing is beautiful. >> reporter: this is what the faa refers to as prohibited airspace. the only aircraft allowed to fly freely into this zone is marine one. and as routine as it may seem, pilots rehearse each flight before picking up the president. the biggest challenge? the final approach and landing, surrounded by trees on both sides, pilots say it's like flying between skyscrapers in manhattan. >> you definitely do kind of feel like you're putting a pretty big helicopter on a tiny

little avenue. >> reporter: marine one must line up perfectly with three red disks on the grass, putting it on the boards, the pilots call it, all with the world's most powerful passenger on board. of course, the presidential helicopters have unique security features that remain top secret, but joe and mika, what was most striking for me, for a matter of minutes, you felt like you were the president. as we landed on the south lawn six times, crowds began to form on the ellipse. literally, thoughts of people coming out, taking pictures, and waving at what they thought was the president, and frankly just us, sorry to tell them. nonetheless, a heck of an experience. >> so marine one traveling all around the world with the president. how do they actually get it to these different locations? >> reporter: yeah, a good question. if the president's going to charlotte, say, they would chopper down there. but we travelled with marine one for a separate piece, that will air later this week, where we went to los angeles. they take the rotors off.

>> come on. >> reporter: they take it apart, and fly it in the back of a cargo plane, and in a matter of four hours or less, they can put it back together. >> does it bring back memories? >> absolutely. there's no better perk for a senior staffer than to be allowed to fly with the president on marine one. i would venture to guess this is the perk that most presidents miss the most. i think some former presidents have talked about air force one being the one they miss the most. i think this particular aircraft is the one that gives you the most special and unique view of anything -- >> going by the washington monument. >> or landing in manhattan. you see things in the city you don't see in any other aircraft. it's a spectacular thing. >> peter alexander -- >> reporter: i was going to say, not just former presidents but would-be presidents. i heard from one of governor mitt romney's closest aides yesterday morning when he heard this piece was airing. he said that's the one thing i wanted to experience the most. his folks, obviously, aren't

going to get that chance. >> all right. peter alexander, thank you very much. up next, business before the bell with michelle caruso-cabrera. [ male announcer ] the new new york is open. open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here

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49 past the hour. "business before the bell" with michelle. janet yellen, fed chair today. >> yeah. it looks like she'll face the committee in washington, and then finally be approved as the next head of the federal reserve. we don't expect a lot of fireworks at this hearing, maybe rand paul might make some noise. but other than that, the bigger question for the markets, of course, what is fed policy going to be? a lot of folks think it will be pretty much the same as under

ben bernanke, so fairly seamless. if anything, she's softer than ben bernanke when it comes to easy money. it's been a rough start to the new year. the worst start for january since 2008. so we'll be watching to see -- and if she says significant about tapering or anything related to fed policy that might move the markets. and we're probably watching shares of amazon, unlikely to move a lot because of the news over the weekend that jeff bezos had to be ferried out of ecuador, because of the kidney stones. they don't kill you, but they are incredibly painful. what might happen with amazon, the investors might ask about succession, which is what you always do whenever you have a company and a ceo that are so deeply intertwined and associated together, right? because he is the founder of amazon. we asked that story with martha stewart. her issues were criminal, not medical. when you have a ceo associated with the brand, you ask about

succession. something happens to him, what happens to the company? >> exactly. michelle, thank you very much. >> see you later. >> we'll be right back. for over a decade

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>> who's that? >> jen. >> so, jen, who's not going? everybody's going, but us. if i cut my hair, do you think they'll let me go? >> jen, have a good time, jen. it must be nice. it must be so cool. >> we've been here since '38, and they haven't let us go yet. >> how'd you make that happen? how did that happen? tell us how it happened. someone just called -- >> they said, why can't you come? i remember seeing jesse owens in berlin, and i want to work for nbc, so i can do it. nobody's ever let me go. >> co-star of a new movie tomorrow. >> somebody's here? >> that's great. awesome. [ simpson ] remember how simple life was when we were little? ♪ when our only job was having fun. well, it's feeling pretty simple again thanks to weight watchers new simple start. i started losing weight right away.

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news couple that seemingly has it all? how about two first-class tickets on aero flat on the caucuses? >> let's go. >> yeah. >> why not? >> they won't let us know. >> i'm going to the olympics. >> i'm boycotting. i'm not even going to watch until you guys go. >> that's right. >> we should go. >> it will be the movement of our time. >> you'll even cut your hair. >> no, way too early. stick around. chuck is straight ahead. >> it's actually luke. >> luke, chuck. chuck, luke. interchangeable. >> have a good day. shock and outrage, al qaeda-linked militants seize a region where more than 1,000 u.s. troops lost their lives during the iraq war. secretary kerry says there's no chance u.s. troop also go back into the country, but top republicans are demanding more action. also this morning, in case you're still not sure, a new report shows it's not a question of if, but how